Kevin Keegan: The lies that damned United

Oct 3 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

FOOTBALL is a murky world. Away from the bright lights, the goals, the glitz and the glamour there is a hidden world of dark political manoeuvring and grubby financial deals.

It stains the game, but once again it is Newcastle United who have hung out their dirty laundry in public for everyone to point and stare.

This is a football club which continues to entertain the nation far more successfully off the pitch than it does on it.

In truth, while Kevin Keegan may have won his case for constructive dismissal and will walk away £2m richer as a result, has he lost a degree of respect and admiration in the process?

Keegan has been idolised as both a player and a manager at St James’s Park, but in his determination to maximise his compensation claim he was guilty of greed.

In pursuing a pay out of more than £25m based on a tenuous claim for loss of future earnings, Keegan was blinded by money. We did not want to believe it – but he was seeking personal financial gain at the expense of a business which only escaped administration this summer by the width of a crossbar.

United fans will do well to remember Keegan for the wonderful things he did as a manager in his first spell, and before that, as one of the best players to have ever pulled on the black and white jersey. But this ugly saga has left a bitter taste in the mouth which will take some time to remove.

Yet, if some will feel let down by Keegan, they will be seething at owner Mike Ashley and a regime which freely admits to lying in official club publications as a public relations exercise.

No matter how many times it was repeated for public consumption, no matter how many times we were reassured by Ashley or one of his obedient cohorts, Keegan did not have the final say on transfers.

He was part of a dubious management structure which turned him into a glorified coach. It was a situation Keegan should never have allowed himself to get into in the first place, but he had every right to walk away from it when the loan signing of Ignacio Gonzalez was forced upon him.

Ashley may have Newcastle’s best interests at heart, but he appears to be utterly incapable of realising them. He is surrounded by dodgy advice and ill-considered opinions from people who do not understand Newcastle United or the thousands who follow it.

Whatever smidgeon of credibility he had left at St James’s Park has surely vanished because of the regrettable shenanigans of those he employed to run things in his absence.

Dennis Wise had no track record as an executive director of football, Tony Jimenez had no experience as a head of recruitment and Derek Llambias had never had any dealings with the running of a football club. Yet, between them, they had the power to overrule Keegan – an experienced manager with a lifetime in the game – in the transfer market.

That controversial management structure has since been dissolved with Llambias admitting they had made a mistake, but the damage had already been done.

We have had apologies and we have had promises that things will get better. We have been told Alan Shearer’s appointment as manager was the best thing Ashley has ever done.

We have been told there is a long term plan for success, we are constantly told about the money Ashley has invested in the club from his own personal fortune and his unwavering commitment to the club.

But can we believe anything if this same regime does not tell the truth in its own publications and can cynically try to manipulate the media as a public relations exercise?

If Keegan’s position was untenable, what is Ashley’s in light of these damning revelations? The man does not have to sell up, he has every right to hold out for as much money as he can get. But surely he must realise there is no way back now?

With the hearing finished and the size of the payout to Keegan considerably smaller than feared, we can only hope the last remaining barrier to a successful takeover has been removed.

Page 2: ‘My claim was to clear my name’ – Kevin Keegan’s statement in full